Jason Day cut off from Tiger Woods' golf wisdom ahead of WGC-Bridgestone Invitational

AKRON, Ohio – Jason Day had a one-shot lead with just a few holes left in the final round of the 2016 Bridgestone Invitational. He played his last four holes 4 over, including a double bogey at the par-5 16th, and finished three shots behind winner Dustin Johnson.

Then he got a text from Tiger Woods.

“Have you got all your anger out yet?”

“I’m like no, not yet, cause I just literally lost this tournament,” Day said.

He tells that story as he walks toward the driving range to fulfill a sponsor obligation on a wet Tuesday afternoon at Firestone Country Club. He was offered a ride in a cart and then an umbrella, turning down both as the rain began to bead on the brim of his black Nike hat.

These days, he says, the conversations with Woods are different. They still text every once in a while but they don’t talk as much as they used to. Day has looked up to Woods as a role model on the golf course for a long time and back in those days, when Woods was on the shelf and his golf career was in doubt, he’d hit Day with some advice after a bad round.

“He’d be like, ‘Forget about it. Let’s talk about what you did on the golf course and what the mistakes were and how do we make sure we don’t make those mistakes anymore?'” Day told Golfweek.

That’s not how it is anymore. Woods is back competing for titles, Day has won twice already this year and the two are paired together for Thursday’s 10:20 a.m. Round 1 tee time at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.

Day still gets texts – Woods told him to “Go get this thing done” the night before he won at Quail Hollow in May – but Woods isn’t giving out the good stuff like he used to.

“Now since we’re playing against each other, we don’t really talk to each other about (golf),” Day said. “It’s more support than anything now, like ‘Good playing,’ or if I’m pissed off he’ll text me. And he knows when I’m pissed off. If I play bad he’ll text me and give me a little pick me up, which is nice. But it’s nothing like the old, ‘this is what you need to do,’ the advice when it comes to playing golf.”

Not that Day really looks like he needs much advice most weeks. He enters Firestone first on Tour in strokes gained putting, first in strokes gained around the green and third in strokes gained total.

Woods, who wasn’t expected to arrive in Akron until Tuesday night, is right there with him ranking fourth in strokes gained around the green and sixth in strokes gained total.

He’s also won eight times at this course, something Day hasn’t been able to pull off with Firestone hosting for the final time this week.

“I’ve had a couple good finishes,” Day said. “It’d be nice to be able to kind of get over the line and win one here before it moves to Memphis.”